Don cornelius was born on September 27, 1936, and raised in the bronzeville neighborhood of chicago.  he graduated from du sable high school in 1954, joined the united states marine corps, and served 18 months in korea before returning home and marrying his high school sweetheart, delores harrison.  he sold insurance, he sold tires, and he sold cars, but it was his work as a policeman that changed history.  he pulled over someone who complimented his voice and encouraged him to pursue a career in broadcasting.  with nothing but petty change in his bank account, he paid for classes and landed himself a job at wvon, where he worked largely in a pinch-hitting capacity.  his boss left for wciu, channel 26, a fledgling television station located right here in the chicago board of trade, so cornelius followed.  not long thereafter, he pitched a show to be called "Soul train" and scared up some financial backing from sears, roebuck & company.  the first taping was held on august 17, 1970, at the wciu studio and featured chicago musicial legend jerry "the iceman" butler of the impressions.  with an array of dancers and some hip new threads, don cornelius ignited the longest-running syndicated television show in american history.  within a year he found himself in hollywood, california, producing weekly shows for stations all across the country.

the influence of soul train as a cultural institution cannot be overstated.  it featured entertainment by virtually every major african-american artist in the country, spawned all kinds of new fashion trends and dance moves, and became an indispensable element of modern black culture and pride.

don cornelius died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the early morning hours of wednesday, february 1, 2012, at his home in los angeles, california.